拆东墙补西墙

拆東牆補西牆

chāidōngqiángbǔxīqiáng

idiom

Meanings

1 to tear down the east wall to patch the west wall
2 to rob Peter to pay Paul
3 a makeshift solution that creates a new problem

Characters

to tear down; to dismantle

to patch; to mend

Examples

他靠拆东墙补西墙来维持家里的开支。

Tā kào chāi dōng qiáng bǔ xī qiáng lái wéichí jiā lǐ de kāizhī.

He keeps household spending afloat by robbing Peter to pay Paul.

这种拆东墙补西墙的做法解决不了根本问题。

Zhè zhǒng chāi dōng qiáng bǔ xī qiáng de zuòfǎ jiějué bù liǎo gēnběn wèntí.

This kind of stopgap approach won't solve the underlying problem.

公司财务紧张,只能拆东墙补西墙。

Gōngsī cáiwù jǐnzhāng, zhǐ néng chāi dōng qiáng bǔ xī qiáng.

The company's finances are tight; they can only shuffle money from one hole to another.

Tips

memory

The image is vivid: a crumbling courtyard where you demolish 东墙 (east wall) just to plug the gap in 西墙 (west wall) — you end up with the same number of holes.

usage

Strongly disapproving, typically about finances or resource management. Very common in everyday speech — one of the most useful 'saying' idioms.

Stroke Order

拆 chāi

东 dōng

墙 qiáng

补 bǔ

西 xī